Citrix Support for Skype for Business

This week at Citrix Synergy 2015 in Orlando we announced a new release of the HDX RealTime Optimization Pack for Microsoft Lync® to be available at the end of June.

Release 1.8 will support optimized delivery of Microsoft’s rebranded universal communications client, Skype for Business, from XenApp and XenDesktop, in Lync UI mode. In addition to supporting Windows and Linux devices, the new release introduces an updated HDX RealTime Media Engine (RTME) for delivering the Lync 2013 and Skype for Business clients to Apple Mac OS X.

For organizations with a mix of Windows, Mac and/or Linux devices the Citrix HDX RealTime Optimization Pack for Lync offers the flexibility of delivering the Lync 2010, Lync 2013 or Skype for Business client (in Lync UI mode) as either part of a full virtual/published desktop or as a published application. Fallback to server-side media processing occurs automatically if the user connects from a device without a media engine. The Optimization Pack is compatible with on-premises Lync 2010 and Lync Server 2013 environments, Lync/Skype Online environments hosted on Office 365, and also with FaceTime cameras and Lync/Skype certified USB audio devices (see our Citrix Ready pages for listings from Plantronics and Polycom).

Look for version 1.8 of the HDX RealTime Optimization Pack for Lync on the Citrix Downloads pages at the end of June.

Citrix also continues to support Microsoft’s VDI Plug-in for Receiver for Windows. The VDI Plug-in media engine is suitable for organizations with an on-premises Lync Server 2013 or Skype for Business Server environment where Windows devices are used exclusively and users receive full virtual desktops.

Derek Thorslund
Director of Product Management, HDX

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After ten years driving the Citrix strategy for HDX (high definition experience) virtualization technologies and delivering the very best in-session user experience over challenging network conditions and with demanding multimedia applications, I’m now applying my HDX background to Software-Defined Networking, with a focus on Citrix Cloud integration and user experience with SaaS and hosted apps.